We Must Say
“No!”
to Ourselves
Discipleship Group
Questions
for
August 28, 2005
Scripture
Does this sound like a
person totally “sold-out” to Jesus Christ?
Jer. 20:7 You pushed me into
this, GOD, and I let you do it.
You
were too much for me.
And
now I’m a public joke.
They
all poke fun at me.
8 Every time I open my mouth
I’m
shouting, “Murder!” or “Rape!”
And
all I get for my GOD warnings
are insults and contempt.
Does this sound like a sold-out Christian? Yes? No?
Well actually it really is. It’s
actually the anguished cry of the prophet Jeremiah! He was trying to resist His prophetic calling
by being silent. He didn’t want any more
to proclaim to his people words of “violence and ruin” but rather he wanted respite from his prophetic calling. But the more he resisted his calling the more
he felt “a fire burning in his heart!”
The Lord had “pushed” him
into a relationship and a vocation from which there seemed to be no
escape. Can’t you hear desperation in
his cry, “You have pushed me into
this, GOD, and I let you do it!”
Yet he couldn’t deny God nor his calling and we hear this desperate resignation in the words,
But if I say, “Forget it!
No
more GOD Messages from me!”
The
words are fire in my belly,
a burning in my bones.
I’m
worn out trying to hold it in.
I can’t do it any longer!
O yes this one is “sold
out” to God but he’s decrying the terrible cost of his commitment and his
calling! But still he can’t deny God nor God’s calling upon his life. Certainly Jeremiah was a most unlikely
candidate of God’s choosing wasn’t he?
He was sold out but profoundly weary In his
calling!
Here’s someone else’s words and I want you to tell me if this person sounds like someone totally sold out to God . . . OK?
Psa. 63:2
My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
O God, you are my God whom
I seek;
For you my flesh pines and
my soul thirsts
Like the earth, parched,
lifeless and without water.
My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
Thus have I gazed toward
you in the sanctuary
To see your power and your
glory,
For your kindness is a
greater good than life;
My lips shall glorify you.
My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
Thus will I bless you
while I life;
Lifting up my hands, I
will call upon your name.
As with the riches of a
banquet shall my soul be satisfied,
And with exultant lips my
mouth shall praise you.
My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
You are my help,
And in the shadow of your
wings I should for joy.
My soul clings fast to you;
Your right hand upholds
me.
My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
Now, I think you’d all
agree that these are the words of someone totally sold out to God don’t you
think?
There’s no ambiguity
here! They’re not complaining about the
cost of their discipleship but rather there’s a reveling in all that God has
given them! They are thirsting for God!
So how do we get to the place that we look and feel just like one or the other or of them or both of them?
Read Romans 12:1-2:
Rom. 12:1
So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary
life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it
before God as an offering - holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual
worship.
2 Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. (The Message – translation)
This is how we become more and more like Jeremiah and the Psalmist – we offer our everyday life to God – not our Sunday life or our “good impression” life but our everyday inside and outside life!
And now listen to the greatest advice of all – Read Matthew 16:21-27:
Matt. 16:21 Then Jesus made it clear to his disciples that it was now
necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, submit to an ordeal of suffering at the
hands of the religious leaders, be killed, and then on the third day be raised
up alive. 22 Peter took him in
hand, protesting, “Impossible, Master! That can never
be!”
Matt. 16:23 But Jesus didn’t swerve. “Peter, get out of my way. Satan,
get lost. You have no idea how God works.”
Matt. 16:24 Then Jesus went to work on his disciples. “Anyone who
intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it.
Follow me and I’ll show you how. 25
Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding
yourself, your true self. 26 What
kind of deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself? What could you
ever trade your soul for?
Matt. 16:27 “Don’t be in such a hurry to go into business for yourself. Before you know it the Son of Man will arrive with all the splendor of his Father, accompanied by an army of angels. You’ll get everything you have coming to you, a personal gift.
Discipleship Questions:
1.Please
read the above with the following question in mind: “What does a really sold-out Christian look
like and how do you and I get there?”
2.What
is God calling you to deny yourself of so that you can
find more and more life?
3.The one thing we can be
sure of is that our crosses are designed for
the good of others! Jesus’ cross
brought life – eternal life - to all who would follow Him. He climbed upon the terrible cross for
us! What
cross is God asking you to pick up and follow Him? Please reflect upon and discuss.
4.Please
close with prayer – offer your new commitments to our sovereign and gracious
Lord Jesus Christ – Amen and Amen!